Invisibly Burning
by livinglife
Summary: Ember McLain was always misunderstood. What caused her to become a ghost? Could it have been the death of her mother? Or maybe it was simply her need to be noticed. From childhood to ghosthood this is the story of her life
1. Childhood

_**First off I would like to tell you that this story is based on a challenge from Evilevergreen called Ashes in the Wind. Since I was already doing a story based on the life of Pariah Dark I thought it would be fun to do one about Ember. Just like my other story, this one will be from Ember's point of view.**_

Emily "Ember" McLain

Born 1968 Died 1990

We will always remember

You

That's what my tombstone said anyway. Reality was so much crueler. No one remembered the rock diva Ember McLain. After I died my songs stayed on the charts for a few days and then no one listened to them any more. It was like I had never existed.

This was probably why I became a ghost. I was so obsessed with making my name known that I just couldn't move on. After I died I watched everyone I knew invisibly and realized that I was _not_ going to be remembered like my tombstone had promised.

I guess the need to be noticed started when I was a little girl.

"Emily! Come here and help me clean up this mess." My mom called to me from the kitchen of our small house, but I didn't respond. Ever since I had been born my father had called me Ember because of my "fiery personality". I was about nine now and rarely responded to anything else.

"Ugh why did your father ever give you that silly nickname? Ember, please come help me!" I stood up from where I had been sitting playing with a toy guitar and walked into the kitchen.

My mother was eight months pregnant with my baby brother. She was extremely round so I was always the one bending down and getting things for her. Mom told me that I had to be her helper, and most of the time I had a feeling that she was just being lazy.

I hated my brother already. The nine years where I had been an only child was bliss, but now that my brother was on the way it was like I was fading away into the scenery. Even my dad had forgotten about me. Now he always made sure that Mom was perfectly content.

Maybe that's why I clung to the name Ember. It was the last bit of proof that I had once been cared for. Once my dad tried to explain that mom had had a miscarriage a few years after I was born, and that he had to take care of mom really well and make sure that the baby was okay.

As the day for mom's pregnancy to end grew closer I was yelled at more and more. My little toy guitar, which didn't make songs well but was fun to play anyway, was broken by my mom when I had played it just a little too loudly.

Although my father never admitted it, I was positive that he wanted a son more than he wanted a daughter. My room was small and cramped while the baby's nursery was large and bright with sunlight. How much room does a baby need anyway?

Finally my mother went to the hospital. My dad left too and I was stuck at home with a babysitter.

When my brother finally came home I was once again simply a part of the furniture. They fussed and picked at the thing and kept talking about how cute he was. He burped and they giggled. He farted and they laughed. He drooled down his chin and they complimented him.

Now, I understand that most of these feelings were natural for the older child to feel. But something was different about my brother and I knew that my parents were in denial. He rarely moved at all and as he got older he still couldn't even roll over.

Finally my parents seemed to realize that they could hide the truth no longer. "Ember, there's something we need to tell you about your brother." I looked over at where he sat in his little chair with disgust on my face. He had drooled all over his bib and I watched as it continued to soak through.

"He's… physically retarded." I blinked. If physically retarded meant really gross, than yeah, he was. "Physically retarded means that he can't move very well, so were counting on you to take care of him."

I looked up at my parents as if they were crazy. The last thing I wanted was to take care of the person who had taken my parents from me.

We both grew older and I noticed that he always was appreciated more than me. He always got straight A's, because although his body didn't work, his mind seemed to be working over time.

The only thing I was good at was singing. My report card had mostly B's and a few C's, with the one A from chorus. My mother glanced at both of the cards and always told me that I should put more effort into school work instead of singing.

"You'll never amount to anything if you stay on the same path that you're going on." My mother told me after a particularly bad report card.

"Ha Ha, Emer stinks at school!" My brother mocked and teased me to no end. He couldn't pronounce Bs, so my name was a weird cross between Emily and Ember. But in front of my parents he was a darling angel. If I even said one thing mean about him I was slapped.

When I was about fifteen my father died and then things really got bad. He died of lung cancer and my mother went into a deep depression. I was stuck feeding and bathing and taking care of my six year old brother.

During her depression my mother screamed at me all of the time. "Why do you hate me Emily!" she screamed one night. "Why can't you get good grades like your brother and care more about this family!" she burst into tears and I simply stared at her.

We lived in a crowded neighborhood and neighbors often called and asked if my brother and mother were okay. Never did they even mention me, and I wanted to slam the phone down every time someone called.

Then one night I asked my mom if she loved me. I had just received another phone call asking how my brother was and finally became tired of being ignored. "Love! You want love! How can I love you when you don't love me! Everyone hates me! Your father even died to get away from me and this stupid family!"

She stood up and stormed past me into the bathroom. The door slammed and I heard the lock click. For a few hours I enjoyed the silence and listened to the radio without fear of being yelled at by my mom. But eventually I became worried and crept downstairs.

My brother glanced up from the couch with a worried expression on his face. "Emer, where were you? I tried to call you but all that you could hear was the radio. Something bad happened to mom! She screamed once and then it was really quiet." He tried to move and only succeeded in rolling off the couch.

I felt the blood drain from my face and ran over to the bathroom door. "Mom?" I pounded on the door and screamed her name. Only silence answered and I slammed into the door as hard as I could.

My shoulder ached but still I kept slamming against the door. Finally it caved in and I ran into the bathroom holding my shoulder.

Blood was smeared across my line of vision. Everything I saw was covered in the dark red fluid. The air had a sickeningly sweet smell that I assumed was the blood, and it also smelled of something else. Death.

I noticed that the curtain in front of the tub was closed. My hand shook as I moved forward and pulled back the white blood stained cloth. In the tub sat my mother up to her waist in her own body fluid.

How long she had been dead I did not know. She had slit her own wrists by the sink and then had sat in the bath tub waiting for death to claim her. I threw up on the already dirty floor and ran from the room.

A few days later we had been taken to an orphanage. None of our relatives wanted to associate themselves with me. The first thing that my brother said when I had told him mom was dead was, "It was you!" his eyes widened. "If you hadn't been messing around with your stupid music then mom would be alive right now!"

Everyone blamed me for my mother's death. "You weren't supposed to be listening to the radio that loud anyway! You should have been watching over your brother, and then you would have heard the scream too! You knew that your mother was emotionally troubled, so what made you just leave her alone in the bathroom!"

Their words haunted my restless dreams where I saw her blood all of the time.

I grew up in the orphanage as, 'The Killer Girl' and when I was finally eighteen I left. Instead of college I decided to continue with music, since I had been repeatedly told that I was no good at anything _except_ singing. All of the times that I had been called worthless, stupid, murderous, all of that was going to change.

Somehow, someway, I would prove that I was worth something, and the name Ember McLain would be heard across America.

_**This was a terribly gruesome chapter. I wonder if it has something to do with wrighting about the lives of ghosts that causes me to get so disgusting. The rest of the story will be about Ember's struggle for fame, based on the song Remember, but I had to start with this because I wanted to show just how deep Ember had been scarred.**_


	2. A Night Of Makeovers

I worked as a waitress for awhile and eventually saved up enough money for a guitar. It was an electric guitar with bright blue flames painted on its purple body, and I fell in love with it the first time I saw it.

Then there was the fact that I didn't have very much experience with a real guitar. My fingers touched the neck gently and I dragged my blue pick across the strings. The sound brought back memories of me strumming my toy guitar for my dad before I had been replaced.

My small apartment was filled with the chords and rhythms that I played on that guitar. The other people who shared the apartment never complained, and I always thanked them for not turning me in.

Sometimes I would lie in my bed and strum my guitar until I fell asleep with it on my lap. Music made me feel complete, and I wondered how I had survived so long without it before.

Eventually the chords became songs, and I added my voice to the sound my guitar made. I was shocked at how nicely it fit with the songs, and found myself writing words for me to sing and play. I started performing for local bars and made more money with each performance.

Then one day I met someone who inspired me more than anyone else. He was a little bit taller than me, and his short brown hair was never combed very neatly. His hazel eyes sparkled happily and his smile showed that he truly loved life.

We met after one of my shows. I was leaving the restaurant and realized that I had dropped my pick somewhere. When I turned to go back inside and look someone opened the door and bumped into me. He looked like he was about my age, which was twenty two

"Oh, I'm so sorry, um, I'm Alex." He held out his hand in an awkward formal manner and I shook it sort of stiffly.

"Uh, Hi. I'm Emily, but everyone calls me Ember." Alex looked at me and then smiled.

"You did a really great job out there tonight Ember!" he realized that we were still holding hands and quickly dropped mine. "I was actually looking for you." I raised one eyebrow questioningly. "You dropped this."

He held up my blue pick, now chipped in a few places from the constant use, and gave it to me. Our hands touched and I watched him blush. "Thanks for bringing this back to me." I said. "I've used it so many times that it holds a lot of meaning for me."

Alex smiled again and said, "I'm glad I could help." There was an awkward silence and then he turned to walk away.

I watched as he walked away with his shoulders slumped slightly. "Wait!" I called out. He turned and there was a hopeful look in his eyes. He was like a big puppy or something.

Love was never my strong point but I decided that I couldn't just let Alex walk away. "Would you like to go get a cup of coffee with me or something? I mean, it's the least I could do after you found my pick. My treat!" Man I sounded lame.

Alex's eyes twinkled with happiness. "Sure, I mean, no!" I blinked and stared at him as he began to stutter. "Well, what I meant to say is that, er, it shouldn't be your treat. I bumped into you so I will pay for the coffee."

I opened my mouth to protest but he put a hand up to cut me off. "No. Now who's driving me or you?" We walked over to his car and he held open the door. I put my guitar in the back seat and climbed in.

The coffee shop was quiet and only a few people were there besides us. As we sipped our drinks I couldn't help but notice the way his eyes always shimmered like he was having the time of his life. "What's so funny?" I asked.

He choked on his coffee and then said, "Sorry, I was just writing a song in my head." He blushed embarrassedly. "It's a hobby of mine." Alex sighed and continued. "They're no where as good as yours though."

I smiled and his attitude brightened. "I'm sure that they're great. Why don't you sing me one?"

"You want me to- I couldn't. Sorry Ember. I'm too embarrassed to sing right now."

I could tell that he wasn't confident about his voice so I didn't push the topic. Instead I said, "So you liked my show?" He nodded and smiled. "Too bad I can't get an agent. Someday I want to become a rock star." I wasn't lying. My desire to be a star had grown to an almost unbearable level.

Alex's eyes widened. "Did you say that you needed an agent? My best friend is looking for someone to sponsor!" My eyes widened too and I stared at him in disbelief. "Would you like me to ask my friend for you?"

It was almost too good to be true. Hope sprang to my chest and I resisted the urge to sing in delight. Maybe my big break was finally here! "I would love it if you would ask your friend for me Alex."

Apparently he could tell how excited I was. He stood up and walked over to the pay phone. "I'm not sure if he will like being woken up, but I'm sure he will wake up when I tell him I got _the_ Ember McLain!"

The other customers looked at me in surprise. An old lady bent over and whispered to her husband, but since he had a hearing aid the whisper was quite loud. "That's Ember McLain? I expected her to be much more exotic like those other rocker folks. I'm surprised that she's even noticed at all!"

It took all of my self restraint to stop myself from glaring at the old lady. If she wanted an exotic looking rocker then that was what she was going to get. I stormed out of the restaurant and stood by Alex's car. A few minutes later he ran out too.

"Ember what's wrong?" He stared into my dark green eyes for a minute. "That lady said something, didn't she?" I blinked and looked away.

"Alex, do you think that I'm a nobody?" He shook his head and opened his mouth to say something, but I continued. "Maybe I should get a new look." I looked at my reflection in the side mirror. My light brown hair flowed down past my shoulders and my green eyes seemed darker than usual.

Always the helpful person that he was, Alex said, "There's a new Wall-To-Wall mart open twenty four hours if you want. I also heard that they have a hair salon too." I forced myself to smile and climbed into his car.

Ten minutes later we were in front of the huge store. Alex and I walked through a huge parking lot that seemed to spread on forever. "There used to be a meadow here." Alex said looking scornfully at the black pavement. "I hate corporate America."

I smiled at this. "Adults ruin everything don't they?" Now Alex smiled.

"I hate to break it to you but we'll be adults soon enough." I stuck out my tongue at him and he laughed. His laugh was sweet and sounded like he laughed often.

Finally we made it to the front doors. Wall-To-Wall mart was very quiet and kind of spooky. A huge sign that looked like a map was hanging from the ceiling and a flashing arrow said, 'you are here'.

We found the hair salon and were very grateful that it wasn't too far away. Alex and I walked in and the stylist on duty woke up with a start. "Oh… customers. What brings you to my salon at…" she stared at the clock on the wall. "Three in the morning."

I walked over and sat in one of the chairs. "I would like my hair dyed please." The lady rolled her eyes and walked over.

"Although I think that you are way too young to worry about grey hairs I'll do it anyway. What color would you like?" I hadn't though about that and went through colors in my head. I could tell that the lady was getting angry.

I shifted on the chair uncomfortably and suddenly remembered the pick in my back pocket. I pulled it out and showed it too her. "This color please."

She blinked and said, "Are you sure? Whatever…" Then she carefully took my pick from me and went into a back room.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I turned to find out that Alex was staring at me. "Are you sure you want to do that to your hair Ember? I think your hair is very pretty the way it is."

I didn't answer and he sighed and picked up a magazine. The hair designer came out of the room and started working on my hair. A few hours later I looked in the mirror at my electric blue hair.

Alex was asleep in the chair and I decided not to wake him up. Instead I silently walked over to the clothes section and bought a tight black leather outfit and white high heel boots. When I returned to the hair salon Alex was still asleep and I shook him gently.

"What? Ugh, I feel like I slept on a rock." Then he looked up at me and his eyes widened. "Who the heck are you?" I rolled my eyes. "Oh, it's you Ember. I didn't recognize you with your hair like that."

Alex stood up and stretched. "I never had the chance to tell you that my agent friend said that it would be his honor to help you." I noticed that his eyes looked dull. "He should like your new look."

"Don't you like my new hairstyle?" I asked. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm just tired. I'll drive you back to the bar and then you can get your car and go home." Alex stood up and walked out of the salon without a second glance. I followed and we soon were back in the huge parking lot.

Alex drove me home in silence and finally we were back to where we started. The silence was very awkward and I tried to start a conversation. "Alex," I called. He turned around and waited for me to catch up. "Do you ever think about the future?"

He stared at me and nodded thoughtfully. "I guess."

I was glad that he was finally speaking to me. "What do you see?"

Alex sighed again and said, "What do _you _see?"

That was not the answer I wanted to hear. "I'm serious!"

"… You, I see you."

I said nothing and he continued. "I see your face on magazines, billboards, and TV. You will be adored by millions and yet…" he paused and looked into my eyes. "Like the dreamers and rockers before you, you will still be alone."

Then he turned and got back into his car and drove away. I watched him leave and wondered what I had done to make him so angry.


	3. Alex's Story

Alex's fried called the next morning and told me that he wanted to see if I was rock star material. I felt guilty as Alex's words ran through my head. _"You will still be all alone." _Was it possible to fall in love in one night? I already missed him and my heart ached at the thought of his twinkling eyes.

I sighed and decided to ignore my feelings. Being a rock star had been my biggest dream and I was not about to give that up for some guy I had just met. My reflection stared back at me and I ran my fingers through my electric blue hair. It just didn't seem like enough…

There was a knock on my door and I walked over expecting it to be the agent. A bouquet of all different blue flowers was thrust into my hands and I gasped in surprise. Alex stood outside in the hall with an embarrassed look on his face as he stared down at his hands.

"Uh, Hi Ember, I'm sorry for how I acted last night it's just that-" He looked up and gasped in surprise too. I had covered my face with white makeup and had black markings under my eyes. "Oh!" His eyes were dull again as he stared at my face. "I didn't realize you were in the middle of something." He turned to leave but I grabbed his shoulder with my free hand.

"Alex…" He pulled away from my hand and turned around.

"Don't you remember what I said last night? Why do you think I would say that? Just for fun? You would never guess that I actually had a reason would you?" His eyes looked wet and he blinked back tears.

"Why can't you just let me do what I want?" I said to him. My tone softened as he frantically tried again to keep tears from falling down his face. "I'm sorry."

"It's just that… I… ugh." He shook his head and then tried again. "Bad habits die hard Ember." Alex finally gave up and a tear trickled down his handsome face. "About two years ago I had met a girl who wanted to be a famous singer. I gave my heart to her and she returned a little bit of my love, but she always cared about her music more than me. We were engaged and were supposed to be married but she always put off the wedding. _"A rock star has more fans when she's single." _I tried to be supportive and I helped hear as much as I could. She made it to fame, but then…"

He looked down so that I couldn't see the tears streaming down his face. "She was murdered by a crazy psycho who she had dated in high school." Alex looked back up at me. "When I see you putting so much devotion towards your music it reminds me too much of her."

Alex glanced at my face again and walked away. I stood silently in shock and stared at the flowers he had given me. Then I walked back into my apartment and placed them on the table. A small note fell from them and I picked it up and read it.

_Dear Ember,_

_I'm sorry for running out on you last night. You're a great friend and I hope that these flowers will help you believe that I am truly sorry. If you ever need someone to talk to you can call me. I hope that you will forgive me._

I read the phone number and sat down in a chair next to the table. Just as I sat down the doorbell rang again and I ran over half hoping it would be Alex. Instead I saw a bleach blond guy in a suit. He smiled and held out his hand. "Hello Ember. I'm Alex's friend and your new agent. You can call me Ben."

Ben walked into my apartment and stared at me. "I love the hair and makeup. Great for attracting fans- especially boys. I don't suppose you have a boyfriend? Not unless Alexander's tried to make a move on you, and guessing by the fact that he ran out of here looking redder than an apple and the flowers on the table I assume that he has, and that you've turned him down. Smart move. I prefer the singers who are single if you know what I mean."

I stared at him and tried to unscramble his words in my head. "Um…"

"But can you sing? I personally never bother going to bar concerts because there are usually only wanna-bes there. But I can tell that you've got a good voice just by looking at you. It's amazing how many willing singers there are out there but only a few are good enough to be rock stars. Poor Alex sure has picked himself a fine lady to love if you ask me. It's almost a shame that you turned him down, but as I've said before it's better that you're single."

Finally I tried to talk. "Alex isn't in love with me. Were just good friends and he was red faced because he had been crying because I reminded him of his dead girlfriend."

"Oh you must mean poor Molly. Shame when people die so early. Did he tell you that her head was blown clear off her body? You just can't go around singing songs about psychos and expect them to ignore it. I mean, they are crazy after all. My good chum Alex put his whole soul into that girl and she just plain ignored him. He was still so heart broken when he found out that she was murdered. In fact he spent most of the money he earned agenting on hiring a private eye to track down the killer. When the found him it turned out that he was a past boyfriend of Molly's."

"Alex was an agent?" I asked curiously. This guy could not hold a secret.

"Yup, we were the best in the business. Benjamin and Alexander agent co. was incredibly rich, but after Alex got involved with our client Molly he refused to see any other up and coming talent and eventually left the business. Now he's gotten himself infatuated with yet another singer and I can tell that it's killing him."

He finally stopped and stared at me. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and then he suddenly said, "Alex is my best friend in the world. I hope for both of your sakes that you don't suffer a tragic fate on the road to stardom."

I desperately wanted to change the subject. "When will my first performance be?"

Ben glared at me for a second and then said, "Next week you have a gig. Here are the details." He held out a piece of paper and then said, "Goodbye Ember. I hope you and Alex figure out your feelings." He walked out the door and I sat down with my head spinning.

I set the paper down on the table and looked again at Alex's number. Then I picked up the phone and dialed the number. The message machine answered.

"Hi Alex," I said into the phone. "It's me Ember. I'm sorry about your fiancée, but I promise that I don't have any crazy psycho boy friends. I would love it if you could come by later. Maybe we can go watch a movie or something. I promise that I won't wear my makeup." I hung up and sat down on the chair.

Why do all of the choices I make end up going wrong?


	4. Mysteries

I think that this was the hardest chapter I've written ever. I always make sure that my chapters are at least a thousand words long, and this chapter just barely made it.

Alex knocked on my door later that night and I made sure that I had scrubbed all of the makeup off of my face. He looked kind of surprised at something. "Are you sure that you want to go to a movie with me? I mean, we just met."

I shrugged and answered, "I told your agent guy that we were friends, and friends go to movies together right?" He nodded slowly and then smiled.

"You've had a chance to meet Ben then? He's kind of talkative." I decided not to ask him about being an agent. Instead I smiled and he said, "The problem is, he just can't keep a secret."

I began to wonder if he knew what Ben had told me and was waiting for me to say something about it. "Are we going to the movie?" I asked.

Alex looked confused and then smiled again. "Right, the movie." He shifted uncomfortably. "Ember, I know that Ben told you that I was an agent once. After the Molly thing though, I just couldn't stand to be in that office. What movie would you like to go to?"

"What was Molly like?" I asked. His eyes looked so sad that I instantly wished that I hadn't said anything. What was I thinking? Maybe I just wanted to know why he had been so devoted to her. Could I possibly be jealous of his dead girlfriend for being the center of Alex's heart?

Alex sighed wearily like he was tired of explaining everything to people.

"She, well, she was a young up and coming singer. Molly was a lot like you. She even died her hair purple to match her guitar. When she died, I was so angry at the person who killed her, I hired an investigator that Ben had suggested." He sighed again. "The investigator caught Molly's old boyfriend."

His eyes filled with anger. "I was so angry at him for killing Molly that I agreed with the investigator and had him arrested. But after I had calmed down a bit I realized that something didn't seem right. The boyfriend hadn't been seen anywhere around town at the time of Molly's death. Supposedly he had been disguised as someone else, but I still think that there's more to the story than that."

"After that I quit agenting. All of the other girls only brought back memories of Molly." He sighed for a third time, and I was beginning to wonder if he hadn't been sleeping. Then I remembered that we had both been up all night last night except for when Alex had been asleep in the hair salon. "So what movie do you want to see?"

"I'm so sorry for you Alex." I said. "You cared for Molly so much." He nodded silently and continued waiting for me to answer his question about the movie. "Could you come in? I want to talk to you about something."

I could hardly believe what I was doing. Apparently Alex couldn't either because his eyes widened and he didn't move. "Ember, we're just acquaintances. I know you from shows and stuff, but you've only known me for a day."

Something about Alex made me want to pour my heart out to him. Lately I had been feeling worried about my life, but when he was with me I felt different. I felt like I was free from my horrible history. I was tired of the nightmares that had been filling my dreams lately. They were terrifyingly vivid.

It was the same every night. I would be my fifteen year old self again, and I would go into the bathroom and see the blood everywhere. Then I would pull back the curtain and see… my twenty two year old body lying there.

Then I would wake up screaming.

"Please Alex? I really need to get something off of my chest." I stepped back and he walked in, still looking disbelieving. We both sat down at my kitchen table and the aroma of the blue flowers made the room smell sweet.

I stared into his nervous eyes. They were so deep and sparkling. He realized that I was staring into his eyes and he turned away. "So… what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I um, Alex, I need to tell you…" I stopped. What was I doing? I sighed and tried again. "Alex, my life hasn't been perfect either." And I poured my heart out to him. He was so easy to talk to, that I just told him everything. Even the nightmare. When I was done I was sobbing and Alex was trying to comfort me.

"Ember," he said softly, "why are you telling me this? It's none of my business to know what's happened in your life. All that you've been through has made you who you are, a beautiful lady with amazing talent." He laughed shortly. "I should know, I was an agent. The nightmare seems kind of strange though. Like a warning."

He looked into my scared eyes. "But I'm sure it's not." Alex said reassuringly. Then he put a comforting arm around my shoulders.

"You're going to be famous Ember. Whether I like it or not it's not up to me to decide. It's up to fate, and I shouldn't have said anything about other rock star's experiences. You're not just another rock star. You're something different, someone better, and just because you had a bad childhood, that doesn't mean that your life will be bad. I'll be here for you- as a friend that is."

I looked up at him and saw that he was blushing. I blushed to and said, "Thanks Alex." We stared at each other for a few more seconds before He blinked and looked away and I said, "We should probably go to that movie now."

"Right! The movie." He stood up and then waited for me for a second, and then sat back down when I didn't get up. "What's wrong?"

"You really think I'm beautiful?"

Come on, you didn't think that they would actually go to a movie did you? 


	5. Making It Through

Needless to say, we didn't go to the movie that night. Alex blushed shyly and before either of us knew what was happening we were kissing. At first his eyes were open and mine were to, but our kiss deepened and we fell into each other's embrace.

Finally we pulled away and I stared into his brown eyes. "Ember," He whispered, "I know this is going to sound corny, but I want to be more than just friends with you. I want to be able to kiss you and love you without the fear of ruining our friendship."

"I do too." I whispered back.

He continued. "But we just met. It doesn't work like that. People don't just fall in love with each other. What if we're moving too fast?"

"Haven't you ever heard of love at first sight?" I said. "Like Romeo and Juliet?"

He laughed a little. "Yeah, and remember what happened to them? Ember, I love you."

"I love you too. With all of my heart I do Alex. If we are moving to fast we'll slow down and realize our mistake eventually, but until then let's enjoy ourselves." I kissed him again.

We became almost inseparable, and the week before my first performance seemed to fly by. Finally it came and I was up on stage singing to a full house. My guitar was set up to an amp, and I was singing through a microphone, and it was just me and my music.

"This is a song called, Making It Through, and it's for a very special guy."

_I saw you standing there; looking lost as lost could be,_

_Searching everywhere for someone, then you found me,_

_Your eyes met mine, my heart soared high,_

_Old memories of love did cry,_

_Fireworks flew overhead, and I sang…_

_It was love at first sight, you and me and me and you,_

_Love at first sight, singing loud and ringing true,_

_Love at first sight, all the stars are out tonight,_

_Come with me we'll make it through all right…_

_We kissed, and I, felt myself grow wings and fly,_

_Soaring high till I finally touched the sky,_

_You said let's wait, let's take it slow,_

_You didn't know how far we'd go,_

_It turned out we were destined to go far…_

_It was love at first sight, you and me and me and you,_

_Love at first sight, singing loud and ringing true,_

_Love at first sight, all the stars are out tonight,_

_Come with me we'll make it through all right…_

_Although the journey we'll face might be sad and long,_

_We'll hold together and our love will keep us strong,_

_You love me, and I love you,_

_We'll keep our love and make it through_

_Cause I believe in you and me…_

_Come with me we'll make it through all right…_

_So here we are, we made it through all right…_

The crowd applauded and I saw Alex standing there with a shocked look on his face. He had no idea that I had been writing this song just for him. I sang several other songs, and when the show was over I was called on again for an encore.

I smiled and thanked the audience and walked off stage. Alex met me and kissed me. "That was amazing Ember!" Ben showed him aside roughly and smiled his almost predatory smile.

"That was great Ember a real great gig. Great to know that you two finally got together. I've already got you booked for another show this month, what do you say?"

"Sure." I said. It was so exhilarating to stand on the stage and sing to an audience. My dream had finally come true.

"And that's not all Ember, you have a recording session the day after tomorrow. Your songs are going to be made an album! I- I mean you'll be rich! Be there!" He turned and walked away and Alex glared slightly at his back.

"It's hard to believe you were an agent." I told him. He smiled at me.

"Maybe if I had stayed in that business long enough I would have turned into someone like that." He smiled and pretended to shudder. "He didn't use to be like that. He used to be a lot slower. He's always been smart though."

The recording session came and went and then I was on the radio. I was flicking through channels and I heard it.

_We'll keep our love and make it through_

_Cause I believe in you and me…_

_Come with me we'll make it through all right…_

_So here we are, we made it through all right…_

I stared at the radio. It was so hard to believe that I was actually on it. I stared at it until a disco song came on, and then turned it off. Soon my songs were all over the charts, and I couldn't go out to the convenience store without being recognized and asked for an autograph.

It was very irritating.

Once I almost punched a guy who kept asking rather rude questions like, "Hey Ember, who does your singing for you?" Now that I think about it I probably would have if Alex hadn't gotten to him first.

Ben came up to me once and I was filled with fear. Something about him was very familiar. "Listen Ember, we need to talk. This mushy gooey 'I love Alex' routine is cute and all, but it's not what the fans want. They want an independent female icon who is single and a available for boys everywhere."

I crossed my arms and glared at him. "You want me to dump Alex don't you."

Ben smiled and nodded. "That's right. You catch on to things so fast! So what do you say?"

I slapped him in the face. "I say no dipstick. I love Alex and would never dump him, especially not because some sleazy agent told me to."

His face filled with anger and then it was replaced with his normal attitude. "Okay Ember, but remember, Alex isn't the only one who loves you, and that might cause some problems." He turned and walked away.

I watched him go and then Alex came up behind me and surprised me with a hug. "Hi Ember, is everything okay?" I turned and kissed him and decided not to tell him about what Ben had said. After all, Ben was Alex's best friend.

That turned out to be a lethal mistake.

_**Okay, I know what your thinking, "why did she waste a chapter on a song that, to quote Evanescence, never was and never will be?"**_

_**Well, I just had to do it. I wrote the song myself, and although none of you know the tune, I think its meaning comes across clear enough. Ember really loves Alex. A lot.**_


End file.
